Bag attaching fixture for suction cleaners



July 22, 1941.

a. 8. WHITE, 2,250,285

BAG A'f'hcnme FIXTURE, FOR SUCTION CLEANERS Filed July 8,. 19:59

J 2 J A INVENTOR Wife I Harv 1;

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 July 22, 1941. H. B. WH ITE' BAG ATTACHING FIXTURE FORSUCTION CLEANERS Filed July 8, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ,lfar yfi. WileA'rroliusv INVENTOR.

Patented July 22, 1941 BAG ATTACHING FIXTURE FOR SUCTION CLEANERS HarryB. White, North Canton, Ohio, assignor to The Hoover Company, NorthCanton, Ohio, a

corporation of Ohio Application July 8, 1939, Serial No. 283,326

4 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in bag attaching fixtures forsuction cleaners and more particularly to an improved device forquicklyand conveniently securing the lower end of a dirt bag to theexhaust outlet connection of a suction cleaner.

Heretofore, it has been the common practice to fit the inlet end of adirt bag onto a metal or other rigid ring by suitable clamping means andto attach the ring directly to the outlet connection by means of a pairof quickly releasable clamping bolts so that the bag can be readilyremoved from time to time for the purpose of emptying its contents.

Such a novel arrangement is ordinarily associated with a dirt bag madeof a porous fabric and capable of use over a considerable period oftime. However, with the development of the paper bag to replace the moreexpensive cloth bag has made it necessary to devise a suitable fittingor mounting so that the user can quickly replace one bag with anotherwhen one wears out or, as is now being considered for practical use, aninexpensive bag to be removed and disposed of With its contents afterone filling.

Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide an improvedmounting for the inlet end of a bag preferably made of a porous paperand including a novel clamping arrangement whereby the mouth of the bagis held firmly and against any possible leakage during the period offilling.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is disclosed in the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a general view of a suction cleaner in side elevationshowing the lower portion of the bag in section;

Figure 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the bag attaching fitting asit appears when removed from the cleaner;

Figure 3 is a detail View in vertical section through the attachingfitting showing the mouth portion of the bag secured thereto;

Figure 4 is an enlarged view in perspective of the expansible clampingring and toggle lever assembly used in the fitting;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the expansion ring as it appears whenremoved from the assembly; and

Figure 6 is a perspective View of the operating lever for the expansionring assembly.

The cleaner illustrated in Figure 1 is typical of any standard cleanerand therefore need not be described in detail.

The wheeled casing I is provided with a nozzle id at its forward endwhich communicates with a fan chamber in which a motor-driven fancreates the suction which gives the device its cleaning ability as it ismaneuvered over the carpet surface by the handle 2 in the hand of theoperator. At the rear end of the casing l is a flanged outlet connection3 to which the dirtladen air from the fan chamber is exhausted into thedirt bag 4 preferably consisting of an elongated bag-shaped containermade of a relatively tough porous paper, having a neck portion 4a ofconsiderably reduced diameter at the lower end adapted to fit onto asleeve-like seat at the outer end portion of the attaching fitting 5located intermediate the outlet connection 3 of the cleaner and the bag4.

This fitting consists primarily of two hingeconnected tubular members 5and 1, connected by an expansible bellows member 8. The memher 6 has theform of an elbow with a bend of approximately 45 degrees and at itsforward end is a flanged portion 6a adapted to bear against the outletconnection 3 of the cleaner casing l and to have detachable connectiontherewith through the medium of a pair of downwardly projecting earslib, to on either side thereof, said ears engaging a pair of clampingbolts 9, 9 anchored in the flanged outlet connection 3.

Projecting rearwardly and upwardly from the rear face of the flangedportion 6a of the memher 6 is a pair of cars Ill, l0 supporting a hingepin II on which is pivotally mounted the outer tubular member I of thefitting, consisting primarily of a collar portion l2 preferably of castmetal and forming a partial housing for the connecting bellows member 8,and a sleeve 13 forming a seat for the neck portion 4a of the bag 4. Thecollar portion l2 of the outer hinged member 1 of the fitting increasesin width as it approaches its upper half section and along its edge areformed a pair of marginal ears lZa, |2a engaging the hinge pin I! justinside of the supporting ears [0, ll).

The sleeve l3 projects outwardly beyond the collar member I with anabrupt shoulder formed at its base, as clearly shown in Figure 3.

The bellows member 8 connecting the two hinged sections 6 and 'l of thefitting is preferably formed of rubber or like flexible compositionfashioned into 'a corrugated contour which permits of its axialexpansion and contraction, as the outer hinged section of the fittingswings with the bag 4 and the handle 2 to which the outer end of the bagis attached. One end of the bellows member 8 is clamped to the end ofthe elbow member 6 and its other end is suitably seated around a thinmetal ring I4 fitted into a large aperture at the base of the sleeveportion I3 of the movable member I.

As heretofore stated, the neck portion 4a of the bag 4 is fashioned toslide onto and fit snugly around the sleeve I3 at the outer end of theattaching fitting, and to this end the neck of the bag is preferablyreinforced by a cylindrical liner t I5 preferably of some suitablefibrous material, but relatively stifier and stronger than the bagmaterial. Thus, the reinforced neck portion of the bag is readilypresented to and slipped onto the outer sleeve portion I3 of the fittingand, with no portion of the fitting surrounding the same, it followsthat in order to fasten the bag in place, either the sleeve I3 or anannular member carried thereby must be internally expanded.

By preference, an internally expansible ring I6 is employed and thisring surrounds the sleeve I3 adjacent its base and fits within anannular channel I! with its outer face slightly below the annularsurface of the sleeve. On either side of the channel, the face of thesleeve is recessed to forma considerably wider but shallower channel I8,the latter being occupied by a thin sleeve I9 of a suitable resilientmaterial, preferably sheet rubber. Thus, the' expansion ring I! isenclosed and concealed beneath by the wider band I9 of rubber whichnormally lies flush with the surface and extends approximatelythroughout the inner one-half section of the surface of the sleeve I3.

It is now apparent that by expanding the ring I6'after the reinforcedneck portion of the bag 4 has been fitted onto the sleeve I3, a firmconnection is established through the combined displacement andfrictional gripping action of the expansible rubber collar I9, and itonly remains to provide apractical actuating mechanism for internallyexpanding the clamping ring.

As 'clearly shown in Figure 5 the expanding ring I6 is preferably madeup of two laminations or thin rings fitted one within the other andriveted together, the inner ring being somewhat shortercircumferentially and the outer ring having its meeting ends bentinwardly in L-shape to form a shallow outwardly-facing recess I6a.

In the assembly of the fitting, the recessed split inthe expansion ringI6 is positioned at the top of the sleeve and within the recess I6aseats the forward ends of a pair of toggle levers 20, having a pivotalconnection at their rear ends on the underside of the collar I2 at 2|,2! and on either side of a transversely extending slot 22 formed in itstop section' As clearly shown in Figure 4, these toggle levers arenormally arranged in V- shape with their meeting ends lying within therecess Ilia in theexpansion ring I6 and between these levers andsubstantially midway their ends is a pivoted cam lever 23, the sameconsisting of an operating lever-portion 23a and a pair of ears 23b, 23bbent downwardly along the outer edges and at right angles to the portion23a to form a pair of spaced cams. A hinge pin 24 passes through theears 23b, 23b just below the operating lever portion 23a, said hinge pinbeing supported at each end by ears I2b, I2b struck inwardly from thecollar I2 on either side of the slot 22 and adjacent its forward end.Thus, the

cam lever 23 occupies the slot 22 with its handle portion directedtoward its outer end and the two 7 As clearly shown in Figure 6, the endportions of the ears 23b, 231) are suitably fashioned to coact with theinner edges of the toggle levers 2D, 26 to impart a cam action to thelatter and in the nature of a spreading apart of their forward ends asthe cam operating lever 23 is swung downwardly into a position flushwith the slot 22 and conversely, permitting the toggle levers to cometogether at their forward ends under the con- .tractive effort of theexpansion ring I6 when the operating lever 23 is rocked upwardly into avertical position, as shown in Figure 4. And finally, in order tomaintain the cams 23b, 23b in spaced relation and yet give them somedegree of resiliency, a compression spring 25 is inserted transverselybetween them and is preferably supported by extrusions 26 (Figures 4 and6).

Obviously, various other devices might be used for controlling theinternally expansive action of the ring I6 and acting either directly toclamp the reinforced mouth portion of the bag upon the sleeve portion I3of the fixture or, indirectly through the annular sheet rubber facingsurrounding the ring. In any case, it would be a clamping action exertedbetween the relatively non-expansible neck portion of a bag and amanually actuated internally expansible member.

Moreover, other arrangements might also be adopted for accomplishing thesame ends, as for instance by introducing expansible sections within thecircumference of an otherwise rigid sleeve onto which the end of the bagis seated or, by making the entire sleeve flexibly contractible andexpansible. Accordingly, it is not desired that the scope of thisinvention shall be limited to the specific disclosure herein described,except insofar as the invention is set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A bag attaching fitting for suction cleaners, comprising a tubularportion communicating with the exhaust outlet of the cleaner and adaptedto have the restricted inlet end of a dirt bag fitted snugly onto theend thereof, an annularly expansible ring mounted within an annulargroove in the outer surface of said tubular portion of the fitting, arelatively thin wide band of resilient material applied over said ringand normally flush with the surface of said tubular end portion, andlever-actuated cam mechanism operatively connected with said ring foreffecting the expansion and contraction thereof for the attachment andremoval of said bag.

2. A bag attaching fitting for suction cleaners, comprising a tubularsleeve portion communicating with the exhaust outlet of the cleaner andadapted to have the restricted inlet end portion of a dirt bag fittedsnugly thereon, an an nularly expansible ring mounted Within an annulargroove surrounding said sleeve portion adjacent its base, a band ofsheet rubber substantially wider than and surrounding said expansiblering and lying substantially flush with the surface of said tubular endportion within shallow recesses on either side of said expansible ringre-' ing limited to substantially radial movement with respect to saidtubular member, and manually operated means movably mounted on saidtubular member and having cam means engaging said expansible means forexpanding said expansible means radially outwardly-from said tubularmemher into engagement with the wall of said dirt bag, said dirt bagwall limiting the expansion of said expansible means for attaching thebag to means embracing the exterior of said tubular 10 said tubularmember.

member for the reception thereover of one end of a cleaner dirt bag,said expansible means be- HARRY 13. WHITE.

